The value creation from divestitures could, unfortunately, be significantly higher. A recent survey by this author revealed that more than two-thirds of divestitures delivered value that was “about as expected” or “lower than expected”—leaving significant value on the table.

According to Deloitte’s global M&A Index, there has been a significant recent increase in major divestment activity, with companies announcing nearly $200 billion worth of global divestments in 2016 alone, compared to $150 billion in 2014.

After reviewing the contemporary deal landscape and deal volumes, this Executive Summary of the full 2018 Mercer Research Report emphasizes that the common denominator that drives deal value remains PEOPLE.

Disruptive technologies and concepts like Cloud, Software Defined Everything, Open Source, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Blockchain and Augmented/Virtual Reality are becoming mainstream, creating new business models across many industries; older, more established players must reinvent themselves or be displaced into oblivion.

An integration program can have a major impact on whether or not a transaction is accretive or dilutive to earnings per share. This session from the Chicago M&A Conference, featuring leaders from Oath (a Verizon company), Microsoft, and BNY Mellon, considered approaches for setting and achieving synergy targets and looked at new and unconventional strategies for a thoughtful integration process that impacts both revenue and productivity.